Roller-drill.



H. R. HUGHES.

ROLLER DRILL.

APPLICATION FILED 151111.27, 1909.

8 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

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Patented May 31, 1910.

H. R. HUGHES.

ROLLER DRILL.

APPLICATION IILIID MALT], 1909.

Patented May 31, 1910.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

'Iw w UN I-TED STATES HOWARD R. HUGHES, OF HOUSTON, TEXAS.

ROLLER-DRILL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 31, 191.0.

Applicatiolrfiled March 27', 1909. Serial No. 486,166.

To all whom it may concern; I

lie it known that I, llownnn R. Iluonns, a citizen of the United States, residing at llouston, Texas, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in ll-oller- .l)rills. of which the following is a full, clear,

and exact description, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to boring drills, and particularly to roller drills; namely, drills of that type in which the head is provided with rollers that disintegrate the material on which the drill operates when the head is rotated.

()no object of my present.invention is to provide a drill of novel construction which comprises few parts that are large and strong enough to withstand the weight and strains to which they are. subjected.

Another object is to provide a roller drill in which the cutting rollers are of novel construction.

Another object is to provide a novel form of device for lubricating the rollers. And still another object is 'to provide a novel means for retaining the rollers in position.

Figure l of the drawings is a bottom plan view of a drill constructed in accordance with my invention; Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of said drill; Fig. 3 is an end view of the head of the drill with the rollers -removed; Fig. 4 is a. horizontal sectional.

view taken on approximately the line l4: of Fig 2; Fig. 5 is a vertical'sectional View taken on approximately the line 5 5 of Fig. 4; Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view of a slightly modified form of myinvention; Fig. 7 is a perspective view of one form of device that can be used for retaining the rollers on their spindles; and Figs. 8 and 9 are perspective "iews of other forms of devices that can be used for retaining the rollers on their spindles.

The drill herein shown embodies some of the features claimed in my pending application Serial No. 463,643, filed November 20, 1908, but the specific construction of the drill herein shown is different from that described in the application above referred to.-

Refcrring to the drawings which illustrate the preferred form of my present invention, A designates the head of the drill which ,is composed of three members, 1, 2 and 3, that are clamped together, preferably by an internally screw-threaded sleeve 4 that surrounds extensions on said m'embers, as shown in Fig. 2, said sleeve being provided with internal screw-threads that cooperate with screw-threads on the lower end of a long pipe or tubular-shaped operating member 5 through which water is introduced to flush out the disintegrated material as. the drill advances into the material in which the hole is being formed. The members 1, 2 and 3 are provided with cooperating vertically disposed faces 6 that contact with each other when said members are assembled, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, and, if desired, said members can be provided with cooperating dowel-pins 7 and recesses for preventing one member from moving relatively to the other. Any other suitable means than dowel-pins, however, could be employed for this purpose so that I do not wish it to be understood that my invention is limited to the exact construction herein shown. I also prefer to mill portions 6 of the cooperating faces 6 of the drill head members so as to secure a tight fit between said parts. Each member of the head is provided with an angularly disposed face 8 that inclines outdinal center of the head toward the lower edge of the head, thus forming a tapered pocket of approximately triangular shape in cross section in the lower end of the head. Three approximately conical-shaped rollers 9, 10 and 11, are arranged in this pocket, and each of said rollers is mounted on a downwardly inclined spindle that projects inwardly toward the longitudinal center of the head, as shown in Fig. 2. The spindle 9 for the roller 9, is carried by the part 1 of the head, the spindle 10 for the roller 10 is carried by the part 2 of the head, and the spindle 11? for the roller 11 is carried by the part 3 of the head. These spindles are preferably integrally connected to the parts or membersof the head which carry them, and only the inner ends of. the spindles are connected to the head, the rollers being provided with internal bores or sockets into which the spindles project so that each roller can bear directly upon the end face of its supporting spindle and thus cause said spindle to take up some of the end thrusts to which the roller is subjected. The bases or inner end faces of the rollers bear against the inclined faces 8 on the head so that a wardly and downwardly from the longitu-- said projections bein .j clamped together, any of the-rollers substantial bearing is provided for each roller to take up the end thrusts on same.

' As shown in Fig. 3, each spindle has a comparatively large base portion, an ad acent portion of less diameter, and an end portion of still less diameter, thus forming a number of shoulders 12 that cooperate with shoulders on the internal bore of the roller mounted thereon so as to provide an extended end thrust bearing surface for the roller. Spindles of this construction not only take up end thrusts to which the rollers are subjected, but they also contain enough metal to prevent them from being broken or bent by the excessive strains on the rollers and also by the great weight which thelong pipe or operating member '5 imposes on the head of the drill. After the rollers have been mounted on their spindles and the parts of the drill head have been assembled and it will be impossible for to drop off their spindles because said rollers occupy practically all of the space in the triangular-shaped pocket i surfaces of any the end of the drill head.

The rollers may be provided with cutting preferred design but I preferto provide the roller 10 with a plura ity of ap roximately straight chisel teeth 13, and the rollers 9, and 11 with pyramidal shaped projections 14 that cut and disintegrate the material with which they come in contact. These projections are preferably arranged in rows'that extend spirally from the apex of the roller to its outer edge,

produced by forming intersectin spira grooves in the surface of the re ler. The end faces of the rollers are provided with cross grooves 15, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, whose edges form cutting surfaces that shear off the material in the bottom of the hole and thus leave an approximately cone-shaped core at the center of the bottom of the hole. The peri heral edges of the rollers are also preferably'provided with teeth 16 that shear off the material from the sides of the hole and thus provide a clearance for the head of the drill. I also prefer to form inclined or substantially spirally arranged cutting grooves 15 in the rollers 9 and 11 adjacent theend A faces thereof, the edges of said grooves hav bottom of the hole.

the pipe surface of the members-so as to ing a shearing action on the material in the -The water that is forced down through 5 or hollow operating member escapes therefrom through ducts 1? formed in the head, said ducts being between the? rollers,,as shown in' Figs. 2 and 3. If desired, grooves 18 canbe formed in the outer pass upwardly between the sides of the hole and the drill head. A lubricant-holder 19, similar to that described in my pending application above referred to, is connecte the head of the drill, and said head is provided with ducts 20 that lead from the lower end of said lubricant-holder to the outer ends of the spindles on which the rollers are mounted, grooves being formed in the internal bores of the rollers and on the outer faces of said spindles so that the lubricating medium will be distributed to the surfaces of the head on which the rollers bear. These distributing grooves can be formed in various ways but I prefer to provide the end-thrust-resisting surfaces 12 of the spindleswith grooves 12 with spirally arranged grooves 12 on the ilnternal bores of the rollers, as shown in A boring'drill of the construction above described comprises few parts so thatthe drill can be made small enough to drill deep holes of small dimensions, all the various parts of the drill being large and strong enough to withstand 'the strains to which so arranged,

sleeve 4 and the drill head rovide. additional spacev for the water and 'sintegrated material to they are subjected. The three rollers are so disposed that the weight of the head and the long tubular-sha ed operating member are distributed equal y on said rollers, and the cutting rollers are so formed that they will cross-cut or finely disintegrate the material with which they come in contact.

The drill shown in Fig. 6 is of the same general design as that shown in Fig. 2 except that devices are employed for connecting the rollers to their supporting spindles. The drill shown in Fig. 6 is also provided with a lubricator of novel construction which will be hereinafter described.

Briefly described, the means for connecting each of the rollers to its spindleconsists of a flange on the roller that engages a collar on the spindle or rojects into a circular groove on the spind e so as to prevent the roller from dropping off the spindle. In the form of my invention illustrated in Fig. .6, the rollers are provided adjacent their base ends with rings 23 having inwardly rojecting flanges 24: that cooperate with col ars 25 on the spindles, said collars being produced by forming circular grooves ;in the spindles to receive the flanges 24. One of the rings 23 is shown in detail in Fig. 7, and by referring to said figure it will be seen that the ring is composed of two sections or parts that are pivotally connected together by a pin 26, one section having a lug or ear 27 that projects into the bifurcated end of the other section. I also-prefer to form the free ends of the ring sections so that they overlap or interlock with each other. The ring23 fits-in a socket in the inner end face or base end of the roller and said-socket is provided with internal screw threads that cooperate with external screwdto that cooperate place the ring on the spindle so that the flange 24 on the ring projects into the groove provided for it in the spindle. I then insert a pin or sharp pointed tool, not shown, in a' notch or hole 28 in the ring so as to hold said ring from turning, and then screw the roller onto the ring, thus securely locking the roller in position. It is not absolutely necessary that the ring 23 should be hinged or formed in two separate parts for, if desired, the ring 23 could be merel split, as shown in Fig. 8, so that it could e sprung oven the spindle. It could also be formed in two separate parts that are not connected together, as shown in Fig. 9.

The lubricant-holder 19 of the drill shown in Fig. 6 is screwed into a collar 29 that surrounds screw-threaded extensions on the up-- per ends of the drill-head members, and the plunger 30, which is mounted in said holder for forcing the lubricating medium through the distributing ducts and grooves, has a hollow member 31 connected to the upper side thereof to form an air chamber, said member being provided with ports 32 adja cent the lower end thereof. A plug 33 is screwed into the upper end of the lubricantholder, and said plug is provided with a plu ralit-y of perforations 34 that permit the water which is forced through the hollow operating member to enter the lubricant-holder and thus exert pressure on the plunger 30. A valve 35, of leather or some other suitable flexible material, is connected to the under side of the plug 33 so as to prevent the water which enters the lubricant-holder from escaping through the holes 34 in the plug. In operation, thewater, that is forced throu h the pipe 5 to flush out the disinte-. grated material in the hole, enters the lubricant-holder through the holes 34 and exerts pressure on the plunger 30, thereby causing said plunger to force the lubricating medium to the bearings of the rollers. The quick and sudden impulses of the pump that forces the water through the pipe 5 causes small charges of water to be forced into the lubricant-holder intermittently, said water entering the hollow member 31 through the ports 32 and thus compressing the air in said member.

From the foregoing it will be seen'that with a construction .of this character the water in the upper portion of the lubricant holder is constantly subjected to the pressure of the compressed air in the air chamber 31 so that the plunger 30 is always subjected to a downward pressure even when the pump is not operating.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. A boring drill comprisinlga head having a tapered triangular-s aped pocket I formed in. the lower. endthereof, three frus'to-conical-shaped rollers arranged in said pocket with their bases or inner ends bearing against the side walls of said pocket,

and supporting spindles for said rollers which terminate inside of the rollers.

2. A boring drill comprising a head pro: vided at its lower end withlthree bearing surfaces which are arranged at an an le to each other and also at an angleto the'ongitudinal axis of the head, three approximately" frusto-conical-shaped rollers arranged with their bases or inner ends in engagement with the angularly disposed bearing surfaces of the head, and spindles which project into said rollers but do notipass clear through the rollers. f I

3 A- boring drill comprising a head composed of three members, an inclined spindle carried by each of said members and projecting toward the longitudinal axis of the head, and an approximately frusto-conical-shaped roller mounted on each of said spindles and bearing against the member'that carries the spindle, said rollers being so formed that they cover the ends of said spindles. I

4. A boring drill comprising a head: composed of three members, means for holding said members together, said members having inclined faces that form a triangulanshaped pocket in the end of the hea and three approximately frusto-conical-shaped rollers arranged in said tapered triangular-shaped pocket and bearing against the members which form the head.

5. A drill comprising a head composed of three members each of which has a flat face that is disposed at an angle to the. longitudinal center of the head, means for clamping said members together, a spindle..pro'ect ing inwardly from each of'saidflat aces toward the longitudinal center of the head, and an approximately frusto-conical-shaped cutting roller mounted on each of said spindles and covering the end thereof.

6. A boring drill comprisin a head, and

a plurality of approximately rusto-conical-- shaped rollers )OIIIDillQd on said head and arranged with their axes inclined relatively to the longitudinal center of the head, one

of said rollers having straight chisel teeth that extend longitudinally of its axis and the other rollers having spirally arranged rows of pyramidal-shaped projections that extend in a direction longitudinally of their axes. 1

7. A boring d'rill provided with an approximately frusto conical shaped roller having rows of pyramidal-shaped projections that extend spirally in a direction longitudinally of its axis. 1

8. A boring drill provided with an approximately frusto conical shaped cutting I proximately roller, the Surface of said roller having oppositely inclined spiral grooves formed therein which intersect each other and thus produce approximately pyramidal-shapedproximately frusto-conical -'shaped roller,

pyramidal-shaped projections on said roller, and inclined grooves arranged adjacent the apex of the roller and formlng cutting edges which have a shearing action on the material with which the roller comes in contact.

10. A borin drill provided with an aprusto conical shaped roller, cutting edges on the end face of said roller, and pyramidal-shaped projections and inclined grooves on the side faces of said roller. 11. A boring drill comprising a head, and an approximately frusto conical shaped roller arranged with its base or inner end bearing against the inclined face on said head, said roller being provided with pyramidal-shaped projections that disintegrate the material on the bottom of the hole being formed and also means for shearing ofi the material from the sides of said hole;

' 12. A boring drill comprising a head having a tapered pocket formed in the lower end thereof, and three approximately frustoconicalshaped rollers arranged in said pocket and provided with cutting surfaces that remove the material from the sides of the hole being formed, two of said rollershaving spirally arranged rows of projections and the other roller having straight chisel teeth.

13. A boring drill comprising a head composed of a plurality of members and means for clamping said members together, said head being provided in its, end face with a tapered pocket, a tubular-shaped operating member to which said'head is connected, said tubular-shaped member serving as a conduit for introducing water into the hole being formed, a duct formed in each of the members that constitute the head for permitting the water to escape from said'tubular-shaped member, three approximately frusto conical shaped cutting rollers arranged in the tapered pocket in the end of said head, and downwardly inclined spindles projecting inwardly toward the longitudinal center of the head for supporting said rollers.

14, A boring drill provided with a head, a s indle on said head having a'nmnber of en -thrust-resisting faces, a roller journaled on said spindle, a lubricant-holder carried by said head, a duct in said head leading to the end of said spindle, and cooperating grooves on the exterior of the spindle and on the internal bore of said roller for distributing the lubricatin medium over the surfaces on which the re er bears. I

15. In a. drill, a spindle, a ring mounted on said spindle and being narrower or of less thickness than the len h of the spindle,

cooperating means on sai ring and spindle for preventing the rin from movinglongitudinally of the spin e,'and a roller connected to said ring.

16. In a drill, a spindle, a roller mounted on said spindle, and cooperating flanges or collars on said spindle and roller for preventing the roller from movin longitudinally of the spindle, one of sai collars being detachably connected to the member which carries it.

17. In a drill, a spindle rovided with a groove, a ring on said spind e provided with a flange that projects into the groove in the spindle, and a roller connected to said ring.

integral collar, a ring loosely mounted on said spindle and coiiperating with said collar, and a roller mounted on said spindle and connected to said ring.

19. In a drill, a spindle provided with a circular groove, a roller mounted on said 18. In a drill, a spindle provided with an spindle, and a s lit ring screwed into said roller and provi ed with a flange that projects into the groove in the spindle.

20. A boring drill comprising a head provided with rollers, a lubrlcant holder adapted to contain a lubricating medium, a plunger in said holder for forcing the lubricatin medium to the bearings of the rollers, a ho low operating member connected to said head for introducing water down into the hole being formed, a closure for the upper end of the lubricant-holder provided with ports that permit said water to enter the lubricant-holder and exert pressure on the plunger therein, and a check valve for preventing the water from escaping from the lubricant-holder. c

21. A boring drill comprising a head provided with cutting rollers, a tubularshaped operating member connected to said head for introducing water down into the hole being formed, a lubricant holder adapted to contain a lubricating medium, a closure for the upper end of said lubricantholder having an openingthat permits the water which is forced down through the operating member to enter the lubricant-holder and exert ressure on the lubricating medium therein, and means for preventing the water from escaping from the lubricantholder.

22. A boring drill comprising a head provided with rotatable cutting devices, a lubricant holder carried by said head, a plunger in said holder for forcing the lubricating medium to the bearings of said cutting devices, a hollow member connected to said plun er to form an air chamber, said member eing provided with openin s, means for permitting water to enter t e lubricant-holder and compress the air in said air chamber, and means for trapping the water in the lubricant-holder.

23.' A boring drill comprising a head provided with cuttin rollers, a tubular-shaped member connecte to said head for introducing water into the hole being formed, a lubricant-holder carried by said head and provided with a closure having ports formed therein so as to permit the water that is forced down through the operating member to enter the holder, a check valve for preventing the water from escapin from the holder, a plunger in the holder or exerting pressure on the lubricating medium therein and a device connected to the upper side 0 said plunger to form an air chamber.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature in the presence of two witnesses, this twenty third da of March 1909.

HOW ARD R. HUGHES.

Witnesses:

W. L. Home, W. L. THOMAS. 

